2021 Report: Operating Room Nurses Association of Canada
Membership:
- Currently, members are Canadian Perioperative Registered Nurses. ORNAC will be looking at our definition of membership in the coming year to consider the inclusion of Registered Practical Nurses and/or Licensed Practical Nurses. This will require a by-law change and approval of our members at our next AGM in the spring of 2022.
- Associate members may include retired perioperative nurses, student nurses, international associates, other healthcare professionals, administrative/government professionals, and perioperative industry representatives.
- Currently have 1036 members.
Journal:
- ORNAC Journal is a peer-reviewed journal published quarterly by Clockwork Communications. A complimentary subscription is available to all ORNAC members and associates. Our journal is also available via subscription service.
Conference:
- ORNAC hosts a national conference every two years. Because of Covid restrictions, our last conference to be held in Victoria, British Columbia, was cancelled. This led to ORNAC working very hard to host our first ever virtual conference in May of 2021. The virtual format was a great success, with interesting and engaging speakers, a virtual vendor hall, educational posters, and chat forums.
- Planning has begun for our next national conference in 2023. The location has yet to be determined, however ORNAC is considering a hybrid conference model with delegates able to attend in-person or virtually.
Standards
- ORNAC has just released our 15th edition of the ORNAC Standards, Guidelines and Position Statements for Perioperative Registered Nurses.
- The Standards Committee has begun working on the 16th edition of the Standards, which will be released in the spring of 2023.
Certification
- Canadian Perioperative Registered Nurses have the option of applying for certification in the specialty of perioperative nursing. Nurses must have a set number of hours worked in a perioperative setting, have a thorough knowledge of the ORNAC Standards, have a strong foundation in perioperative nursing theory and write a CNA (Canadian Nurses Association) exam to qualify for certification. Certification is kept current by submitting a record of accrued education related to perioperative practice.
Webinars
- ORNAC has just hosted our first educational webinar on patient positioning. This was a joint effort between ORNAC and AMT Surgical/Hillrom to provide a virtual “hands-on” option for education for our members.
- There is currently another in-depth webinar planned on patient positioning as well as some other webinar topics currently in the planning stages.
ORNAC Approved Perioperative Programs
- A peer reviewed process which evaluates the curriculum of perioperative nursing programs. Programs are submitted by the institution seeking approval and are evaluated based upon a set evaluation guideline related to ORNAC current Standards.
- There are currently four approved programs with another program currently being considered.
Executive and Board Structure:
- ORNAC is comprised of an Executive team and Board of Directors. Each Canadian province/territory is represented by a board director, with directors also representing specialty areas of practice that include Advanced Practice, Education, and Leadership. ORNAC is the national group for perioperative nursing in Canada, which each province having a provincial council. ORNAC also has an Executive Director who is responsible for much of the day-to-day work. All these roles are filled by committed volunteers.
Respectfully submitted,
Sharon Hollett BN, RN, CPN(C)
President ORNAC 2021-2023
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